2018!

Hi Everyone!

First of all, I wanted to share this amazing photo of one of my trees at home in the snow. It’s really pretty! Thankfully the snow is just about gone now.

Secondly, and most importantly, Happy New Year! 2018. Blimey. Where is the time going?! Today is the start of another new chapter for us all and I can only but ponder what is in store for us all.

I thought I’d kick the new year off with a new post about what my aims and hopes are for this year. But what are they? I’ve really no idea.

It’s easier for me to turn my attention to reading. Last year I managed to read 36 books. I was a tad disappointed but it gives me something to aim for in 2018!

The books were as follows:

Asher, Jay 13 Reasons Why
Behrendt, Greg & Tuccillo, Liz He’s Just Not That Into You
Bell, Alex The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club
Butland, Stephanie Lost For Words
Coelho, Paulo Eleven Minutes
Dickens, Charles A Christmas Carol
Doughty, Louise Apple Tree Yard
Dyer, Geoff Paris Trance
Emmerson, Miranda Miss Treadway & the Field of Stars
Foer, Johnathan Safran Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Galgut, Damon In A Strange Room
Hawkins, Paula Into the Water
Hislop, Victoria Cartes Postales from Greece
Honeyman, Gail Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Jansson, Tove The Summer Book
Kemmerer, Brigid Letters to the Lost
Kinsella, Sophie My Not So Perfect Life
Levy, Deborah Hot Milk
Loos, Anita Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Mackintosh, Claire I See You
Makis, Eve The Spice Box Letters
Minghella, Anthony The English Patient
Priestley, J.B An Inspector Calls
Pritcher, Annabel Ketchup Clouds
Sachar, Louis Holes
Seskis, Tina One Step Too Far
Shakespeare, William Macbeth
Sheffield, Jack Dear Teacher
Stevenson, Robert Louis The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Swindles, Robert Stone Cold
Thompson, Lisa The Goldfish Boy
Wax, Ruby The Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled
Wilde, Oscar Salome
Wilde, Oscar Only Dull People Are Brilliant at Breakfast
Wilde, Oscar The Ballad of Reading Gaol
Woodfine, Katherine The Painted Dragon

Some of these books I teach so I read them again and again. Nevertheless, I’m really excited about the Read The Year Challenge. I like to learn new things and this is perfect for that, to find new writers and genres. It’s easy to stick to what you know; it becomes a sort of comfy blanket really.

I hope you guys continue to follow my journey. I’ve met some amazing people on here and would love that to continue. I’m going to try and be a bit more regular on here. I know I’ve said that a lot but it’s important to me. So fingers crossed you’ll be hearing and seeing more from me. It seems a good time to say…

January 1st 2018: this is me. I have many flaws, I don’t get to read as much as I’d like, I live to work and I miss amazing posts from people here. But, I am me.

The last thing I’d like to leave you with is the message I got inside my fortune cookie last night. I wanted to share it with you all because we all face challenges and have hurdles we have to cross. It’s easy to forget sometimes.

So to my amazing blogging family, I hope you have the best 2018. You all deserve it.

Big love xxx